L2 - Base Technologies Flashcards
What are process technologies?
About the processes to build the chips. Silicon wavers are used to replicate chips.
What is 10nm?
width of the fins on the chip
What is the aim concerning computer chips?
Put as many transistors as possible on it.
What did the increase in transistors lead to?
Increase in clock speed stopped because otherwise, the heat increases –> Single-thread performance is stopped by clock speed.
–> need for a performance increase and energy reduction
Why are more cores used in CPU?
Because they are like little CPUs that can work independently –> increase of performance
Trends concerning CPU
- multi-core processors
- SIMD support
- combination of core private and shared cashes
- heterogeneity
- hardware support for energy control
What is SIMD?
Single Instruction Multiple Data. SIMD describes computers with multiple processing elements that simultaneously perform the same operation on multiple data points. –> data parallelism
What is the combination of core private and shared cashes about?
This keeps the data near to the CPU.
What is heterogeneity about when talking about CPU?
Processors might have different cores. You specialize your hardware for the process you are doing –> less energy consumption.
What is hardware support for energy control about?
You can adapt the processor for the needs of the application. E.g. switching off the other cores or lower the clock frequency.
What is a challenge when it comes to CPU?
Feeding the processor: the memory hierarchy
-> Use data hierarchy in an efficient way to keep the data as close the CPU as possible
What is special about the Intel Kaby Lake Processor?
- system agent manages CPU energy control
- you have a ring interconnection network that goes around the cores and enables them to communicate
- the level 3 cash is near to the core
- GPU is already integrated in the processor
What is special about the Skylake XP Socket?
- multi-dimensional mash network that serves as communication for the cores
What is special about ARM processor designs?
These processors are integrated into Systems on a Chip (SoC).
SoC (from the internet)
A System-on-a-Chip (SoC) is an integrated circuit (IC) that integrates all the components of a computer or electronic system into a single chip. It is a type of microcontroller that includes a microprocessor, memory, and other components such as input/output interfaces, power management, and communication interfaces all integrated into a single piece of silicon.
What is ARM Big Little
- you have clusters of processors
- with cluster switching you can pick one cluster at a time (use either the high performance cluster or the low performance cluster)